Venezuela's continuing struggles with economic malaise and the low price of oil are spilling out in the open with serious consequences — babies dying, consumer product shortages and a national leader being threatened with ouster.

Updated

03/19/2014 - 7:15am

One of the drivers behind the Venezuelan street protests is a lack of basic consumer goods, from toilet paper to food. Now the government thinks it has a partial answer — a sort of supermarket loyalty card that it hopes will cut down on hoarding and speculation. But some critics say the idea is just creepy.

The state of Indiana was among the first in a wave of states to pass a strict photo ID law to vote. Republicans say it was necessary to prevent fraud, while Democrats call it a solution in search of a problem.

Venezuela alleges the US ambassador to Colombia plotted to destabilize and "annihilate" President Nicolas Maduro, just the latest claim in an escalating war of words between the two nations. The claim came shortly before the US House approved a measure calling for sanctions on officials in the Venezuelan government over human rights abuses.

Joanna Hausmann gets it. She has a Jewish last name, red hair and has been compared to a Pixar cartoon. But she's not a white girl from Iowa. She's a Venezuelan comic who jokes about our ideas of race.

Former political prisoner Francisco Marquez says he witnessed beatings and torture during his four months in Venezuelan prison. He's now in the US trying to draw attention to the human rights crisis back home.